Meet Saskia de Reuck, GLX Digital's multi-tasking legal eagle.

A people-oriented empath and a natural-born problem solver, Saskia de Reuck is GLX Digital’s Head of Corporate and an integral member of our commercial team. Get to know her a little better.

In many ways, Saskia de Reuck challenges the classic smooth-talking, suit-wearing power-obsessed lawyer stereotype.

At her core, she’s an empath – an advocate for those who struggle to make their own voices heard. She’s also a young mother, a role that has further powered her genuine drive to effect positive change on the world around her.

“For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a lawyer,” she begins. “Originally I wanted to be a conservationist lawyer – I was always driven by a sense of justice and being able to stand up for people's rights.

“But then as I grew and gained more experience, it became apparent to me that there are many opportunities to make a difference, not simply working on behalf of those who are unable to speak for themselves. There are big companies out there transforming the way we do things – often for the better – and have the ability to positively impact the world around us. Being a part of that corporate consciousness is really inspiring and something that really drives me.”

After completing her law degree at the University of Western Australia, Saskia fulfilled her altruistic aspirations by joining the Civil Litigation Unit at the Department for Child Protection, a role she says was equal parts demanding and rewarding.

Like many young Australians, she then packed her bags for an extended working holiday in the UK. Here, she gained commercial law experience at private practice, Herbert Smith Freehills, and at the UK’s Financial Services Authority.

In 2008, Saskia returned to Perth to establish professional roots at home. She accepted an in-house role with Atlantic Ltd, owner of WA-based Windimurra vanadium project. She then moved to Fortune 500 engineering consulting firm, AECOM, before joining mining and exploration company, IGO Ltd. The move into the resources sector is one Saskia regards as a turning point in her career.

“In private practice I got exposure to some really interesting people and worked on equally interesting high profile cases, but working in-house gave me the opportunity to get involved in all areas of the business and understand it from the inside out, from both commercial and strategic perspectives. Also, I found the people working in the resources sector really relatable and very easy to work with, and that improved my experience.”

While at AECOM, Saskia fell pregnant with her first child (she’s now a mother of two – Arabella, aged seven, and Samuel, aged five) and faced the challenge of balancing motherhood with a burgeoning career – an eye-widening experience.

“I was lucky that I had a really understanding boss. I took a year of maternity leave for each of my children and then she was happy for me to return part time. I’m also lucky that I have a supportive family, so both sets of grandparents are around and help out a lot.

“Being a parent has shown me just how many things I’m capable of handling at once. I think traditionally there’s an antiquated perception that when women return from paternity leave they’re not going to be able to perform to their previous standard, or will be distracted. I found the juggle has made me more focused, more efficient and better at multi-tasking.”

In mid 2020, Saskia was approached by GLX Digital founder and CEO, Damien Criddle (a fellow lawyer), and asked to join the team as the company Head of Legal. Inspired by the board, the management team and Damien’s leadership style, she accepted the opportunity. The GLX gig is Saskia’s first in both the tech industry and at a start-up.

“I love the face-paced nature of tech. Although we’re a newer company, we’ve got some pretty huge goals and ambitions, and I love being an integral part of the journey.

“I also really enjoy being a part of a smaller team. I love the fact that there's a genuine opportunity to be a part of the commercial, marketing, strategy, branding and business development – everything that goes with making and taking a small business to the next level.

“I think sometimes there's the risk in a bigger company that you can get lost amongst the masses. In a small company everybody has to show up as the best versions of themselves every day. There’s a real push to do better and that motivates me.”

And when it comes to that elusive work life balance, Saskia says working at GLX ticks that box too.

“Now my kids are at school full time, and GLX gives me the flexibility to do do-drop off and pick-up as required, and be there for assemblies. The team is really supportive of that and everyone's got kids around the same age, so we get that there are other aspects to life, not just work.”

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